Gulf Coast's Vince Parker (44) tries to take down Barron quarterback Julio Gomez (3) in the third quarter of the Barron Collier-Gulf Coast Catfish Bowl football game Wednesday, Nov. 10 at Barron Collier High School.

What to watch for: Rematch of last year's regional quarterfinal won by South, which scored five TDs from 50 or more yards. Both defenses have held opponents to fewer than 20 points in every game. Huge challenge awaits Barron considering nobody has been able to slow down South's high-powered offense. An Ohio State-Michigan matchup will be included as future Buckeye Heuerman faces future Wolverine Crawford.

The fact that South Fort Myers High begins its third postseason tonight with an undefeated regular-season record isn't the biggest surprise about this year's Wolfpack.

Neither is the slew of comfortable victories that South — which will face Class 3A-District 12 runner-up Barron Collier in a regional quarterfinal for the second straight year — generated on the way to a 9-0 regular season and 3A-11 title.

After all, the offense includes Michigan-bound Dallas Crawford, highly coveted Sammy Watkins and a group of icebergs in cleats on the team's largest line ever.

But the biggest change most opposing coaches have noted about South this season is its defense. Much more physical than in previous years, the coaches have said.

"Our biggest thing is we've got 11 kids that are really good high school football players. They mesh well together," South coach Grant Redhead said about his defense that has yielded a meager 37 points and produced three shutouts compared to 163 points allowed in a 10-game regular season last year.

South's defense has shined since the preseason when the Wolfpack held Barron Collier to a safety in a 23-2 win.

Barron Collier coach Mark Ivey said much has changed about his 8-2 team since that initial meeting.

"I think we're the most improved team in Southwest Florida," he said. "If you look at our first game of the year, we were not a very good football team. I think right now we're as good as anybody. I don't know if we're ready to win a state championship this week, but I hope we're ready to win a first-round playoff game because we certainly have pride in ourselves in getting better every week. I feel our kids have done that very successfully."

Similar to South, Barron Collier's defense has been a stingy group. The Cougars, whose only losses have come against playoff teams, have not allowed more than 20 points in a game all season.

"(Ivey) always prepares those kids well. They're always physical. They just keep going. They're tenacious kids. They lost to two playoff teams. They're solid," said Redhead, who was Ivey's offensive coordinator at Cypress Lake in 2004 before he was hired to start the South program from scratch.

No doubt, Barron Collier will have its hands full trying to contain a Wolfpack offense that is averaging 42 points per game. The elusive Crawford seldom makes poor decisions at quarterback whether he's scrambling, throwing or both. Crawford holds a 17 to 1 touchdown pass to interception ratio.

"We're playing the most explosive team in Southwest Florida, maybe the state," Ivey said. "We want to come out there and show that we may not be the most explosive, but we're the best all-around football team that there is."

Ivey said his quarterback — Julio Gomez — has blossomed in the past few weeks.

"Julio has had some times this year where he was having trouble playing quarterback. He was just playing athlete," Ivey said. "But for the last three weeks, he's really picked a good time to start being a quarterback. He's making the proper reads. He's throwing the ball to the right places. He's completing the balls we need to have a complete offense. He's doing a fantastic job right now."

The first few minutes of recent meetings against South haven't been fantastic for Barron Collier, which has been burned by big plays early, including last year's playoff loss when the Wolfpack scored on their first play.

Both teams are healthy. The Wolfpack will be without Terrell Neal — their leading rusher last season — who was dismissed from the team a few weeks ago.

Ivey said this year's Cougars sport a different postseason mentality than in recent years which he hopes pays off.

"It's a great challenge, but it's one I think our kids are up for," he said. "Our kids this year are a different brand. For three years I've watched great kids that I love come and win a district championship and be satisfied with it. This year, unlike the others, these kids are still hungry. It's going to make for a real fun Friday night."